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Protecting rights and facilitating stable relationships among federal agencies, labor organizations, and employees while advancing an effective and efficient government through the administration of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute.

I. Statement of the Case

This unfair labor practice case is before the Authority on exceptions to the attached decision of the Administrative Law Judge filed by the General Counsel.

The complaint alleges that the Respondent violated § 7116(a)(1) and (5) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) by refusing to bargain over a change of no longer allowing employees to wear personal headsets when working Saturday overtime. The General Counsel contended that the Respondent's actions changed the past practice. The Judge, finding no such past practice, concluded that the General Counsel failed to establish that the Respondent had violated the Statute as alleged. Accordingly, the Judge recommended that the Authority dismiss the complaint.

Upon consideration of the Judge's decision, the General Counsel's exceptions, and the entire record, we adopt the Judge's findings, conclusions, and recommended Order. [n1]

II. Order

In part, the General Counsel argues that the Judge committed reversible error by failing to address its primary argument that
there was no policy prohibiting employees from wearing personal headsets when working Saturday overtime, and the institution of
such a policy, without notice, is a violation of the Statute. A Judge does not err by failing to address an issue when the issue was
neither expressly alleged in the complaint, nor fully and fairly litigated. See BOP, Office of Internal Affairs, Wash., D.C. and
Phoenix, Ariz., 52 FLRA 421, 428-30 (1996); United States Dep't of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson
Air Force Base, Ohio, 55 FLRA 968, 971 (1999). We have reviewed the record and find that the issue was not specifically
encompassed in the complaint and was not fully and fairly litigated. As such, the Judge did not err.